Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Duke
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Drops Season Opener at No. 2 Duke
2/16/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 16, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - All-Americans Matt Danowski and Zach Greer combined for 13 points to lead No.2 Duke to a 16-4 victory over 15th-ranked Bucknell on Saturday in the season openers for both teams at Koskinen Stadium. Austin Winter had a goal and an assist for the Bison, while Tim Brandau, Joe Mele and Nick Marks also found the net. Freshman Ryan Klipstein picked up his first career assist on Brandau's goal.
Danowski had two goals and five assists and Greer had four goals and two helpers for Duke, which returned eight starters from last year's squad that finished 17-3 and lost by one goal to Johns Hopkins in the national championship game.
Winter's tally with 3:24 left in the first quarter got Bucknell on the board for the first time in 2008 and cut into a 2-0 Duke lead. It was still a 2-1 game into the second period when Blue Devil goalie Dan Loftus made a kick save on Winter, and Duke responded with three goals in 83 seconds to pull away. Max Quinzani sandwiched two goals around one from Greer, igniting a flurry of seven straight Duke goals.
Ned Crotty's tally with 25 seconds left in the half gave the Blue Devils a 6-1 halftime lead, then two minutes into the second period Greer caught a break when his pass attempt deflected off a stick in front and went into an empty net. Steve Schoeffel's goal off a Greer assist made it 9-1 about three minutes later.
Bucknell stopped the run with an extra-man goal. Klipstein came from behind the cage, drew two defenders and passed back to Brandau for a goal. But Schoeffel scored again with 4:58 left in the third, starting Duke's second 7-0 run of the day. Josh Coveleski's goal with 8:15 remaining gave Duke a commanding 16-2 lead.
The Bison finished strong, scoring twice 40 seconds apart in the final five minutes. Andrew Goodhand came up with a nice takeaway near midfield and started a fastbreak. He passed to Winter, who found Mele in alone on the left side for his first goal of the year. Not long after, Marks skipped in a long shot on the run from the right side to close the scoring.
Duke's 16 goals were the most by a Bison opponent since a 16-11 loss at Villanova in 2004.
Bucknell is back in action next Saturday, taking on former Patriot League rival Hobart at Boys' Latin High School in Baltimore. It will be a homecoming for Bucknell's Evan Burns and Alex Lyons, both graduates of Boys' Latin.
